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The Week of April 22, 2024

On the Floor

This week, the Senate began discussion on Senate Bill 740, which modifies several provisions relating to utilities, as well as Senate Bill 936, which creates provisions relating to a post-consumer paint recycling program.

Additionally, the Senate gave first round approval to the following bills:

Bills and Committees

Senator May’s Legislation:

The Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee passed my Senate Bill 1412 this week. This legislation creates the Ebony Alert System to aid in the identification and location of abducted or missing Black youth who are reasonable believed to be the victim of a kidnapping or trafficking offense. I believe this alert system will be a valuable resource for law enforcement and address any disparities when it comes to finding missing Black Missourians. Often, missing person cases for Black youth are brushed aside as runaway situations, when in reality they could be in serious danger. I hope this alert system sheds more light on this issue and gives our state departments and law enforcement officers the tools they need to ensure members of this vulnerable population return home safe and sound. With a few weeks of session remaining, there is a bit of a time crunch, but I will do what I can to get this important legislation passed and to the governor’s desk.

Additionally, I have several bills that have been amended onto other pieces of legislation that are moving through the legislative process:

Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee:

Unfortunately, the committee also passed House Bill 1481, which would cede control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department back to the state. Previously, a state-run Board of Police Commissioners had governed the St. Louis department for more than 150 years, but the state’s authority ended when 63.9% of Missouri voters approved Proposition A, a statewide ballot measure in 2012, restoring local control. Under HB 1481, the governor would appoint four commissioners to the board. I vehemently opposed this bill when it was filed last year, and I will continue to fight against the passage of this legislation when it comes to the Senate floor for debate. Local control of the department is the best option for our community.

Judiciary Committee:

Senate Bill 897 provides that no county, municipality or political subdivision shall impose or otherwise enforce a moratorium on eviction proceedings unless specifically authorized by law, among other provisions related to judicial proceedings.

House Bill 1692 creates “Valentine’s Law,” which establishes the offense of aggravated fleeing a stop or detention of a motor vehicle and also amends the penalty for the offense of resisting or interfering with arrest. 

Senate Bill 1400 modifies the offense of unlawful posting of certain information if the person knowingly posts certain information to cause great bodily harm or death, or threatening to cause harm or death. The law would now include if the person knowingly posts certain information to intimidate or harass such person and to obtain financial gain from them. 

Commerce Committee:

The committee heard Senate Bill 1483, which would allow funds left in the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Natural Resources Protection Fund to remain there, instead of reverting to the state’s general revenue fund as it is in current law.

Appropriations Committee:

The committee completed the mark-up process for the Fiscal Year 2025 state operating budget during this week’s hearings. It is an honor to serve on this committee and be a part of our state’s budget making process, and I committed to ensuring our community receives the funding it needs to continue to flourish. 

Gubernatorial Appointments Committee:

It was my honor to present Andrew Schwartz to the Senate Gubernatorial Appointments Committee for appointment to the St. Louis City Board of Election Commissioners. I am confident that his skills and prior experience will make him an excellent addition to the board, and I wish him the best as he begins his time as an election commissioner.

Other News

Senior Property Tax Freeze Credit

The application for the City of St. Louis Senior Property Tax Credit is now open. This tax credit was passed as a part of Senate Bill 190 during last year’s legislative session and signed into law by the governor. It allows the city to provide senior citizens with fixed city property tax rates while protecting other tax rates such as public schools, the public library, the St. Louis Zoo, museums, etc., from revenue reductions. Eligible seniors can apply for this credit online, via paper form or in-person at the assessor's office. Applications are due by June 30, and individuals can learn more about eligibility and necessary documents at the link above.

Bill defunding Planned Parenthood heads to governor

Along straight party lines, the Missouri House of Representatives voted 106-48 on April 24 to grant final passage to legislation seeking to block one of the state’s providers of women’s health care from participating in the state’s Medicaid program. The bill, previously approved by the Senate, now goes to the governor, who is expected to sign it into law.

House Bill 2634 marks the culmination of a years-long effort by some lawmakers to defund clinics like Planned Parenthood operating in the state. Although the organization was the state’s last remaining abortion provider, none of its clinics currently perform the procedure in Missouri, where it is now illegal in nearly all circumstances.

Because the Missouri Supreme Court twice in recent years has struck down attempts to strip the organization of funding through the state budget process, the bill attempts to get around that impediment by creating a general statute purporting to prohibit Medicaid reimbursements to health care facilities affiliated with out-of-state abortion providers.

Some lawmakers attempted to add an emergency clause to HB 2634 that would have allowed it to take effect immediately upon being signed by the governor. However, that motion failed on a vote of 106-50, falling three votes shy of the two-thirds majority needed for passage. As a result, the prohibition on Planned Parenthood receiving Medicaid funding, once signed, won’t take effect until Aug. 28.

House approves making it harder to amend state constitution

After restoring so-called “ballot candy,” the House of Representatives voted 102-49 on April 25 to approve legislation that would make it theoretically possible for a minority of voters statewide to block the ratification of proposed constitutional amendments supported by a majority. 

The Senate previously stripped out the ballot candy to overcome a filibuster and allow a vote sending the measure to the House. With the ballot candy restored, the measure returns to the Senate, where its chances of winning final approval are uncertain since another filibuster is expected.

Senate Joint Resolution 74 seeks to impose a concurrent majority requirement of both a simple majority of votes cast statewide, as well as approval in at least five of Missouri’s eight congressional districts. Ratification has traditionally required only a simple statewide majority. According to an analysis by the Missouri Independent, it would be mathematically possible under this system for just 23% of voters to thwart ratification.

Since SJR 74’s supporters believe Missouri voters would likely reject such a change as stand-alone legislation, they added ballot candy specifying that non-citizens can’t vote and foreign governments can’t sponsor or finance initiatives – provisions that merely echo existing law. The ballot language written into SJR 74 lists the various pieces of ballot candy first and the concurrent majority requirement last.

If SJR 74 wins final Senate approval, it automatically would go on the Nov. 5 general election ballot. However, it is expected the governor would exercise his authority to move the measure to the Aug. 6 primary election in order for the concurrent majority requirement to have a chance of being approved before an expected November vote on an initiative petition to add an abortion rights provision to the Missouri Constitution.

House advances measure asking voters to modify term limits

State lawmakers would be limited to serving 16 years total in any combination between the Senate and House of Representatives, instead of no more than eight years per chamber, under legislation the House approved April 22 on a vote of 134-14, with five lawmakers voting “present.”

Missouri voters first enacted legislative term limits in 1992 with 75% support from citizens, but the restrictions didn’t take full effect until the 2002 elections. In the two decades since, legislative term limits have been widely criticized for forcing lawmakers from office before they can accrue substantial experience, ceding power over the legislative process from the elected representatives of the people to longtime lobbyists and legislative staff.

Although it’s currently possible to serve 16 years in the Legislature by serving the maximum tenure in both chambers, few lawmakers are able to do so as practical matter. House Joint Resolution 69 would grant more flexibility by allowing someone to serve the full 16 years in a single chamber or another combination, such as 12 years in one and four in the other.

The joint resolution now advances to the Senate. If it wins final legislative approval, it automatically would go on the Nov. 5 ballot for voter ratification. The 2024 legislative session ends May 17.

Commission picks new director for conservation department 

The Missouri Conservation Commission has selected Jason Summers as the next director of the state Department of Conservation. Summers will replace Sara Parker Pauley, who is retiring June 1 after 30 years with the department, including more than seven years as director.

Summers will become the department’s tenth director in its 87-year history. He currently serves as the department’s deputy director of resource management. 

Although most state department leaders are chosen by the governor, the conservation director is selected by the four-member conservation commission, which is the constitutionally independent governing authority of the agency.

Bipartisan bill to block Kansas City landfill goes to governor

The Missouri House of Representatives voted 121-25 on April 23 to send bipartisan legislation to the governor aimed at blocking a controversial landfill from being built in south Kansas City. Residents who live near the site have been fighting the proposed 270-acre facility for more than year, but until now their efforts had been blocked in the Senate.

House Bill 1751 would prohibit new landfills in Kansas City if they fall within a half-mile of the border of a neighboring municipality unless that city also approves the project. The proposed landfill at issue is near the city of Raymore. The Senate voted 24-7 in favor of the bill on April 17 after the Raymore City Council agreed to a financial settlement with landfill’s developer to abandon their plans.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Thank you for your interest in the legislative process. I look forward to hearing from you on the issues that are important to you this legislative session. If there is anything my office can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact my office at 573-751-3599.